Monday, June 13, 2011

Blue Range Wolf Reintroduction Area and Wallow Fire Information

As of June 9, 2011 the Wallow Fire has burned over three wolf pack dens:

The Rim Pack (AF858, AM1107, F1187, f1213) - The fire burned through the Rim Pack den area on Friday June 3rd,
and burned with a high intensity in the immediate area of the den. The Rim Pack adults were located in the den area on the
6-8-11 wolf telemetry flight. The adults returning to the den area may be an indication that the pups survived the fire.
This pack does not have a GPS collar, and monitoring is based on VHF locations from the helicopter and airplane. We have
not yet counted the number of pups in this pack during this year.

The Bluestem Pack (AF1042, AM806) - The fire moved
through the Bluestem Pack den area on Friday June 3rd, and
was spotty and burned with a low intensity in the immediate area of
the den. GPS locations through June 5th indicate that
the AF1042 has remained in the den area since the fire moved
through. Both adults were located in the den area on the 6-8-11
wolf telemetry flight. The adults returning to the den area may be
an indication that the pups survived the fire. Previous
efforts documented a minimum of 3 pups with this pack.

The Hawks Nest Pack (AF1110, f1208) - The fire moved through this area on Saturday, June 4th and was spotty and
burned with a low intensity in the immediate area of the den. Ground tracking conducted in the area on June 5th indicated
that the adults remained in the area following the fire. The Hawks Nest Pack adults were located in the den area on the
6-8-11 wolf telemetry flight. The adults remaining in the den area may be an indication that the pups survived the fire.
This pack does not have a GPS collar and thus tracking is dependent on either aerial or ground tracking of VHF collars.
Previous efforts documented a minimum of 5 pups with this pack.

Three additional pack den areas retain the potential to be affected by the fire:

Paradise Pack (AF1056) - This pack is denned approximately 8 miles northwest of the northwestern edge of the
Wallow Fire. The pack has a minimum of 5 pups.

Fox Mountain (AF1188, AM1158) - This pack is denned approximately 5 miles east of the eastern edge of the
Wallow Fire. The exact location of the den has yet to be determined and a count of pups has not yet occurred.

M1183 on White Mountain Apache Tribe - This pack is denned approximately 4.5 miles west of the southwestern
edge of the Wallow Fire. The exact location of the den has yet to be determined and a count of pups has not yet occurred.

Four additional packs appear to be denning and are not likely to be affected by this fire:

San Mateo Pack (AF903, AM1157, f1212) - Denning behavior has been confirmed in the San Mateo Pack and a minimum of
5 pups have been documented.

The film offers an abbreviated history of the relationship between wolves and people—told from the wolf’s perspective—from a time when they coexisted to an era in which people began to fear and exterminate the wolves.

The return of wolves to the northern Rocky Mountains has been called one of America’s greatest conservation stories. But wolves are facing new attacks by members of Congress who are gunning to remove Endangered Species Act protections before the species has recovered.

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Inescapably, the realization was being borne in upon my preconditioned mind that the centuries-old and universally accepted human concept of wolf character was a palpable lie... From this hour onward, I would go open-minded into the lupine world and learn to see and know the wolves, not for what they were supposed to be, but for what they actually were.

-Farley Mowat, Never Cry Wolf

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“If you look into the eyes of a wild wolf, there is something there more powerful than many humans can accept.” – Suzanne Stone